Instead, the state will allow the federal government to set up the exchange. Pennsylvania is the 28th state to reject the option of having a state-based exchange.

In a letter to Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Corbett said the department had not provided adequate information to address his questions about how the exchange would be setup and operate.

Christine Conkright, a spokeswoman for the governor, said the state still was determining what would happen to the $33-million grant from the federal government that was supposed to be used to help fund the establishment of the exchange.

In a statement, Corbett said he was still undecided about whether he would chose to expand Medicaid under the federal health care law — the other major decision that all states must make in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling that upheld the law but required states to opt-in to the Medicaid expansion.

Contact Eric Boehm at Eric@PAIndependent.com and follow @PAIndependent on Twitter.

Pennsylvania Independent is a public interest journalism project dedicated to promoting open, transparent, and accountable state government by reporting on the activities of agencies, bureaucracies, and politicians in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.